Ch.162Guest Reception (3)

The truly absurd part was how the structure of this delusion became increasingly elaborate.

Carisia stared at the ceiling for a moment. How did she end up surrounded by such people?

‘…Let’s try to think positively!’

That old man, Hector, seemed to consider Ortes’s essence extremely dangerous, yet he didn’t appear hostile toward Ortes himself.

Among Lampades, Cnemon, and Hector, Hector was the closest to the average perception of a “friend.”

In truth, it was somewhat sad that the person closest to being a friend was someone who genuinely believed that the constantly smiling Ortes was identical to a tyrant from mythological times.

Deep breath. Carisia steeled her resolve.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Hector, you fear the Demon King, don’t you? At the very least, you don’t view him favorably.”

The old man closed his eyes and nodded heavily.

“That’s correct. I fear the Demon King.”

“Then why do you remain friends with Ortes?”

“Because I hope he will cease to be the Demon King.”

“Cease to ‘be’?”

Hector’s sentence was in the future tense. He thought that someday Ortes might become aware of himself as the Demon King.

And at that moment of awakening, the only variable that could make a difference would be memories.

“A person’s life could be defined as the relationships they build with others. If the memories the Demon King has built in this era could remain as a moment of hesitation for him, and if that could postpone the inevitable destruction, I would call that a success.”

“Postponing destruction, is that all?”

Hector’s eyebrows twitched. Carisia had pointed out what Hector had left unsaid.

“You could have killed Ortes.”

If he truly was the one who discovered Ortes when he had just awakened, he could have simply eliminated Ortes right there while he was still disoriented.

“What if I wasn’t certain until then?”

Carisia gestured toward the sword Hector wore.

“That’s a rare item in this day and age, isn’t it? You, who discovered Ortes, use a sword, and Ortes has consistently used a sword from his days as a troubleshooter until now. It’s reasonable to infer some connection between the two of you.”

Even if he wasn’t certain at the time of discovery, he could have assessed the situation while teaching Ortes his swordsmanship. Since he cited “spell overwriting” as a major argument for the Ortes-Demon King theory, he must have completed the structure of that hypothesis by the time he observed it.

“Hasn’t Ortes told you about me?”

“He only answers what I ask. I generally wait for him to share his personal history on his own.”

Hector found her answer quite surprising. Carisia wasn’t deceiving him—this could be easily verified by simply asking Ortes.

“Yes. I taught Ortes how to handle a sword. I am, to some extent, his master.”

Carisia slowly looked at Hector. A swordsman who “fears the Demon King.”

Traditionally, warriors who use martial arts do tend to resent mages. Once, before the age of mages or in its early days, warriors had their own power base.

But unlike divine power, martial arts were not subject to suppression. Thus, warriors might envy or be jealous of mages, but rarely feared them.

“I did teach him the basics of spell structure analysis that precedes spell overwriting.”

“Interesting. So you taught the Demon King a sword that negates magic?”

“…Ortes’s ‘eyes.’ Those eyes that intuitively understand everything in the world are one of the easiest ways to comprehend magical truths. It’s just that Ortes himself is reluctant to use them; if he were to observe the Ten Commandments, he could easily grasp even their most profound truths.”

Hector added that the Demon King’s intellect, capable of understanding (理解) all magic, becomes the key to breaking (破解) all magic.

“The sword I inherited has been passed down for thousands of years solely to counter magic. I saw the only one who could perfect—no, transcend—that sword.”

Carisia recalled Talos, whom Ortes had faced at the Great Temple of Plato. According to Ortes, Talos had regarded him as a successor to a long-lost order of knights¹.

A secret organization of fallen knights who had been sharpening their swords against the Ten Towers for ages. Hostility toward the Demon King and a sword that breaks magic.

‘So Talos’s suspicions weren’t unfounded after all.’

“Hector.”

“Yes?”

“Are you the one who leads the knights?”

***

After receiving the unspoken message to leave while Carisia conducted the interview, I realized the truth that I was a person with surprisingly little to do.

“The groundwork for the Warring States Plan will have to wait until recruitment properly begins…”

I went to see Arabella out of boredom, but she was half-dying. When I left some encouraging words, I received such an intense reaction that I hastily turned and left.

I had already moved the scales to Carisia’s room when I organized her clothes in the morning. The feeling of having nothing to do brought boredom rather than liberation.

‘This is when I should be getting ahead on work so I can truly relax later when I want to.’

I was checking my emails to see if any work communications had come in. New message.

A sender name that seemed randomly generated with letters and numbers without any pattern. A virus? I shifted my gaze to the subject line.

‘Senior.’

It’s Niobe.

Good. I opened the email, hoping for a positive response.

Fortunately, it was as expected.

***

Carisia summoned Ortes. She had talked enough.

There was certainly value in the information worth listening to and the analysis from a different perspective. Hector’s personal abilities and connections would undoubtedly be useful.

‘But that delusion is the problem.’

At times like this, shock therapy was necessary.

The most suitable person to break the delusion would be Ortes himself.

As always, Ortes’s arrival was prompt. Knock, knock. A measured knocking on the door.

“Come in.”

Ortes had his usual squinted eyes, with a slightly deeper smile. Had he received some good news in the meantime?

Hector looked at Carisia with suspicion. He had been told she would demonstrate that there was no connection between Ortes and the Demon King. But to call him in person?

Was she planning to ask him directly, “Are you the Demon King?” According to Hector’s expectations, Ortes should have no memory of being the Demon King, and such a direct question might even trigger his awakening as the Demon King.

This would be a terrible disaster. Just as Hector was about to say something—

“Ah, Boss. How did the interview go?”

“…Since it was your recommendation, I don’t oppose it. But Mr. Hector seems to have some doubts about our company. You can tell him everything, so please answer my questions calmly.”

“Old man, you’re quite suspicious. You could have just asked the boss, and she would have answered well.”

Ortes shrugged and waited for Carisia’s question.

“When is the Demon King supposed to resurrect?”

It was a perplexing question. Is it okay to talk about such things so freely? But Ortes faithfully responded as instructed. Hector’s face also showed bewilderment, partly because of the content of the question.

“I believed it was 2077, but it might be sooner. He still seems to be dead, though.”

And partly because of Ortes’s nonchalant response.

“…What are you talking about?”

“Huh? About the Demon King’s resurrection? Old man, didn’t you get the full explanation?”

“I only came knowing that you wanted to overthrow the Ten Towers’ ruling system.”

Ortes pondered thoughtfully. It seemed that Carisia had only told the beginning and end of the story, omitting a significant middle portion. She appeared to be dumping the tedious explanations on him.

“Well, you see, long ago there was this Shimmyung Order, a coalition of religious orders—”

“I know that.”

“Oh, you do? Then I’ll skip the part about the Demon King and the psychic parasites.”

“What?”

“Ah. Monsters that feed on the faith and sacred artifacts of the order created by the Demon King? They’ve been continuously weakening the Shimmyung Order, and in certain situations, they could become the Demon King’s spare bodies. One appeared in Algot City but was killed.”

“How?”

“The boss likes explosions, so…”

It was an incomprehensible answer. Explosions? A bomb capable of killing a legendary monster prepared by the Demon King himself? Did she grind up some sacred artifact to make it?

“Anyway, the Demon King has been seeking resurrection or second coming through various means. You know about Arguirion, the anti-Ten Towers group, right?”

“Yes. The core of your plan was to use the Ten Towers’ large-scale expedition against them.”

Hector was recalling not only Ortes’s plan but also plans that others had advised him on. The ultimate solution to revive the existence of knights who were disappearing under the weight of magical society.

“Actually, they’re a puppet organization serving the Demon King.”

Hector felt a headache coming on—not from worrying about the treatment of his only disciple, but from the overwhelming flood of information.